


Weakness

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bedside Vigils, Canon-Typical Violence, Crimson Flower Route, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emperor/Retainer Relationship, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Humiliation, Self-Hatred, Serious Injuries, Shame, Worried Edelgard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:06:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: An emperor should not have to rush to rescue her servant, Hubert thinks, yet here she is, wasting her valuable time at his side after such a failure.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Hubert von Vestra
Kudos: 37
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: i want a fic where hubert does something dumb - passes out again from overwork, or is injured in battle, or is rescued by edelgard. basically some sappy shit where hubert feels guilty about being looked/after cared about, the repression + guilt are ever present, and edelgard truly talks about how much she cares for him.

House Vestra has served House Hresvelg for generations, dating back to before even his grandfather's time. He was six the first time he understood the gravity of his role, and he has taken it seriously ever since. _You must guard Lady Edelgard with your life,_ Father had said, even as he secretly planned to undermine House Hresvelg the moment Lady Edelgard took the throne.

Hubert would and has gladly killed in Lady Edelgard's name, even his own father. He had been prepared to dispose of the professor Edelgard admired so much until that day in the Holy Tomb. She is his life, his priority, he will protect and serve her even if it costs him his life.

So he's the opposite of pleased to wake up in the infirmary following the battle of Derdriu, even when the first thing he sees upon regaining his vision is Lady Edelgard kneeling by his bedside. Her crown is nowhere to be seen, and her hair is coming out of the normally immaculate coils she's taken to keeping it in. She is still in her usual red dress, but her cloak is lying on the floor beside her.

"You're finally awake," she says. Hubert groans, trying to sit up before the pain in his ribcage stops him.

"How annoying."

"Pardon?"

"For you, my lady. Your duties to the Empire and the Black Eagle Strike Force should come before all else, and yet-"

"The professor and Hanneman have taken over for the time being." She looks as though she hasn't slept, shadows under her eyes as she stifles a yawn.

"How long have I been unconscious?" The last thing he remembers is a cluster of wyverns coming towards him as he prepared to cast one of his more potent spells, and then darkness.

"Just a day," she says, which is a slight relief. "But even if it were longer, I'd have stayed." She closes her eyes. "I was so busy trying to get to Claude before Hilda caught up to me, I should never have left your side." Hubert shakes his head, the humiliation burning brighter.

"You have nothing to feel guilty for, my lady. It was I who was too slow and weak to clear the battlefield in your stead," he mutters.

"Don't say that." Her voice catches as she grips his hand. "Linhardt warped me over to you, but you were unconscious and bleeding so badly, I thought you..."

She trails off, her shoulders slumping; he hasn't seen her look this afraid or defeated since those mages finished their experiments and left her staring at ten corpses, too stunned to even weep. Her fingers lace through his and she squeezes tightly, her breathing sharp and uneven.

She did not shed tears then, but she looks dangerously close to it now, and Hubert hates himself even more.

"I've caused you-"

"Don't. Please..." She swallows. "Hubert, I know what our relationship normally is, how we both are, but...you're just so _important_ to me. Not as a servant or an advisor, but as _you._ " Her voice breaks on the last word, and she closes her eyes. She falls silent, resting her forehead on the edge of the bed. Lady Edelgard has been extremely guarded with her emotions since the experiments, this is the closest he's seen her to breaking down in a long time.

_It is because me that she's in such pain. I was weak, I was useless, I failed as her servant. She should not have to take care of me, she should not have to feel pain because of me._

"My apologies." She lifts her head, adjusting the locks of hair that have come loose with her free hand. "I did not mean to lose control in such a way. However, I meant every word I said."

"My lady, _you_ have nothing to apologize for." He strokes the heel of her hand with his thumb, his gaze locking with hers. "You have enough on your plate as it is without having to take care of me."

Her face softens again, her free hand coming up to stroke his face, and his heart races.

"I _want_ to."

"My lady..."

"I'm here because I want to take care of you," she continues, her gaze going gentler than he's ever seen it. "Circumstances of birth may have bound us together, but even discarding my position and yours, you mean the world to me. I appreciate everything you've done for me, even when I worry about you risking your life."

_It should not be her job to protect and comfort you,_ his head berates him, but her words are already seeping into his heart, as are her still-gentle expression and the warmth of her hands. _You mean the world to me._

His love for her is something he's kept tightly bound to the furthest corners of his mind. As her servant, he should be above such things. As her advisor, it would not be right to mix business with pleasure. But in this moment he finds it harder and harder to care.

_You mean the world to me._

"Edelgard." Her given name escapes his lips before he can even think, and he begins to apologize, but she draws closer.

"It's okay. Perhaps in the presence of others, we must keep a professional front. But when it's just the two of us, it's just Edelgard."

He sighs, allowing the weight of his shame to lift from his heart, at least for now.

_Even an emperor has her weaknesses. Perhaps it is only fitting that we are each other's._

"As you wish, my la-" He pauses. " _Edelgard._ "

She leans her head against the bed once more, close to his. Hubert is unaccustomed to warm and fuzzy feelings, having long since denied himself any in order to best serve his liege. But he recognizes them, and just for now, he'll allow them to sink in.

"I'm glad you're okay. Don't ever scare me like that again," she murmurs. And because he's too tired to argue any further, he nods.

"I promise, I won't."

She falls asleep then, and despite his own lingering aches and exhaustion, he stays awake just a bit longer to watch over her.


End file.
